Out in Time

by Grey Cole

This is not my standard read, it is a genre that I have only ever read once before but I was glad of the opportunity to review the book.

What did I find when I opened the book, well I have to say that I was confronted by what has to be one of the most beautifully romantic stories of opening your heart and mind to a love that you have yearned for so long.

Wade Truman is the quintessential good old southern boy, just about to leave college and hit it big in the NFL.

But Wade has just one problem with that and it is the fact that he is living a lie, he knows he is gay and is it is tearing him apart having to lie to everyone around him.

He has denied his feelings for so long, knowing that in the macho world of major league football, coming out would effectively be the end of his career before it has even really began and playing football is what he has lived for since being a kid.

But his resolution is to find his feet in the team and then come out in one year’s time, Oh, Wade I have my fingers crossed that you get your hope but I think you may find that the big bad world of commerce has something to say about it.

Wade is a reporter on the college paper and is given the opportunity to interview his all-time football hero, a legend of the game who having recently retired published his explosive memories and revealed to the world that he was gay.

He has managed to talk the editor of the paper into letting him take taking Heath Taylor along with him to take photographs of the day to accompany the interview. But it is not all a selfless act because Wade has an ulterior motive- He has a crush on Heath, one that unbeknown to him is completely reciprocated but Heath like everyone else believes Wade to be straight – life would be so much easier without all the subterfuge.

Heath is openly gay and while Wade enjoys his company when they meet up, they are not exactly best buddies; in fact their first introduction was positively hostile.

But over the years they have become more acquainted and they actually get on. But they will be spending two days together and you have to ask yourself just how easy they will find it to fight the feelings that they have for each other.

Feelings, that are unwilling to lie dormant any longer.

I loved the connection between Wade and Heath, I loved the fact that they had an established friendship, long before they change the nature of their relationship I thought it was good to see that longevity was where they were both headed.

I liked the fact that Boyd was able to give Wade an insight into what being a gay man in the NFL was like, one that he could ponder on while he decided on whether he could live with his one year deadline.

But what of Wade and Heath, well they came to fruition when they spent the night in the hotel prior to returning to campus after the interview.

I got the feeling that Wade’s frustration had him yearning to feel the touch of someone he had lusted after for so long but when he eventually opened up to Heath about the truth of his situation, it was a little more than a bit of a surprise to Heath, it was as if all his Christmases had come at once. Here was the man he thought he could never have, offering himself to him.

Their story was told with class, with an emphasis on their friendship and although they were quite different in their characteristics, but they were fundamentally the same, two people with needs that were not being met and that wanted a chance to be happy. The conversational tone of the novel made it a really easy read, one that flowed easily and this was assisted by the fact that the story is told from both Wade and Heath’s points of view.

Although I enjoyed the book, I have to say that I had one disappointment and that was the fact that it was only a novella, I wasn’t quite ready to say goodbye to Wade and Heath and I wanted a little but more of Boyd and James- I hope that there is more to come.